Azerbaijani Language Resources

Saturday, March 3, 2012

This article appeared on azadliq.org yesterday. It is a firsthand account of the protests that broke out in Quba after the governor of the province called the citizens of Quba traitors in a clip that was posted to youtube. Thousands of protestors gathered and burnt down Rauf Həbibov's two private homes, one of which was still under construction, as well as his official headquarters. The governor was subsequently sacked by President Aliyev. It remains to be seen what political significance the protests will have on the rest of the country. Thus far things seem quiet. The portions I am uncertain about are highlighted in blue.

On March 1 a mass protest took place in Quba. Residents of the region who considered themselves insulted disobeyed state agencies and set on fire a portion of the executive authority building as well as the city and country homes of the governor, Rauf Həbibov. The majority of the protestors gathered by the thousands across from the governor’s city home on Heydər Əliyev Avenue.

Even though there were enough internal affairs officers and police they settled for being witnesses to the events. The protestors climbed on top of the walls and the half-finished construction and shouted slogans of “Freedom,” “Resign,” and “Quba.” The smoke of the burning building could be seen in the vicinity. One group of young people planted an Azerbaijani flag on top of the still unfinished new house inside the courtyard. They assessed this as confirmation of their own victory.

THE POLICE OBSERVE...

At this point the internal affairs officers and police were called in to prevent possible injuries in the outburst and to prevent the area from being set on fire. Nothing else. Normally Azerbaijan’s overwhelming structures of force have successfully concealed their dexterity during any protest Nevertheless, they had serious grounds to disperse the action. The more the governor’s house burned, the more it imperiled the houses of neighbors. The thousands of protestors could have also decided to use other radical means. But not only did they not disperse the protest they also did not attempt to extinguish the burning houses.

Two executives from the Ministry of Emergency Situations could be seen on top of the walls. Occasionally, after tossing some water on the fire rising from one house they would stop and think about something.

With one word, the police and other structures united with the crowd stopped and contemplated how the house was burning.

There were no firetrucks in the area. The residents said that a group of protestors at the end of the street blocked the road and would not allow the firetrucks through.

... SOLDIERS WITHOUT ACTION

But special buses for transporting protestors arrested at the protest easily entered the area where the firetrucks weren’t allowed and were waiting their own time.

Only after several hours were the protestors moved onto the sidewalks. The crowd which was shouting slogans and throwing things from the governor’s house into the street now took up positions as observers on the sidewalk. In addition to the soldiers armed with clubs and shields lining up against the protestors there were plenty of soldiers in the trucks along the street. However, all of them did nothing.

The internet was not working in the region. Every internet club I visited was either closed or there was no internet. When I asked why it was like this they said that there has been no internet since yesterday evening – the day before the protest. They told me the same thing at the offices of organizations offering internet courses.

THE POLICE'S WARNING

After several hours of getting tired of looking at the governor’s house burning, a large portion of the protestors spilled over to the Quba regional police station. Again the protestors overcame a signficant distance and no one stopped them. The military vehicles carrying internal affairs soldiers were quietly following them in the same direction. Again only as observers. The citizenry was going to the police station to free the people who had been arrested during the morning protest. They went, arrived, and made their demands. Before the superior police officers opposing them asked them to disperse they gave the protestors a grave warning: “This is not the same as the governor’s house or office. Don’t mess with us. This is our house, if something goes wrong we will arrest all of you and hang you up by your guts.”

It seemed clear that the police can make either polite requests or demands whenever they want.

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

Let me say that in situations like these one type of questions remain unanswered: Is it true that the situation was as it seemed at first glance, that control was lost in Quba or was it that the population was being controlled?

One didn’t sense any special conditions in the city, nor were security posts visible. Nevertheless, it was evident that significant forces from outside of the city were engaged in the protest and that this process was continuing. The equipment and the vehicles placed against the protest were sufficient in the areas surrounding the police station. And afterward even with these means they still stayed far away from the protestors near the police station.

In the background decent conditions were created for the media and they did not prevent filming.

WHY ZİYA MƏMMƏDOV?

The names of the occasional deputy Vahid Əhmədov and Transportation Minister Ziya Məmmədov could be heard coming from the mouths of the protestors and the police. Everyone knew that these two were in the region. But this problem with the character of their honor also increased the number of questions that remain open:

If Vahid Əhmədov made sure to be in the region during a time like this then why was the transportation minister, Ziya Məmmədov, there? On what official basis did the minister ask for apologies from the population for the causes of the events happening in Quba? After all, according what the crowd said it was the governor who had insulted them.

What caused the president to dismiss the governor of the Quba region in such a short period of time? After all, there are sufficient complaints about the governors of other regions of the country.

THE FACTOR THAT PROVOKED THE PEOPLE OF QUBA

People from Quba were saying that no one could play with their dignity. If the government does not declare itself the supporter of its citizens the people themselves will solve the problem.

Is it true that the authorities retreated in Quba?

People from Quba wanted to raise their own flag, in other words, the flag of Azerbaijan, on top of the governor’s house and they raised it. It’s interesting, I wonder what factor helped them in being able to do this?

The expressions that the governor used, the internet that can be taken down at any time, the police that treated the protestors near the police station so mildly, or the years of unresolved social problems?

But whatever the cause, on March 1 the local population of Quba and not the government decided who would stay and who would go… In other words, the residents were openly saying that if the governor didn’t step down they would not be pacified. And in the end that’s what happened…

Sunday, February 5, 2012

This piece by Mirmehdi Ağaoğlu on the possibility of renewed fighting over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh appeared recently on kulis.az. While the first part of the article seems to be arguing against the resumption of hostilities, the author ends on a nationalistic, pro-war note. This attitude is very prevalent among the generation too young to have experienced the horrors of the conflict firsthand. This article was one of the most viewed on the website last week. I am uncertain about the portions highlighted in blue.

Imagine for a moment. The day is tomorrow or another day and at this moment the Karabakh war begins. All able-bodied men go to the army to fight either as volunteers or as conscripts.

Some women are sent out to war as nurses while the bolder ones take up arms. And Facebook. Think about the condition of this social network.

Naturally, it won’t resemble the war of the early 90s at all. Everyone has a telephone in their hands. Using telephones on the front line will probably be limited. The clever ones will be able to get around this ban. All day there will be statuses about the war, connections giving news of the course of the war, photos reflecting scenes of fighting, songs and video clips in the spirit of patriotism.

On profiles there will be pictures of highly armed people, a young man stepping on the chest of an Armenian corpse, a group of our comrades emerging from the top of a tank, our friend with a bandaged head, our female friend distributing food to soldiers with metal dishes in their hands. What other kinds of pictures will be on profiles?

We have heard many stories like this in childhood. Someone captured an Armenian and took him to the grave of his friend and cut off his head. If things like this happen again then imagine the picture of a decapitated Armenian soldier. The comments written below the picture. How praises will be said to that soldier with his knife, what curses will be rained down on that Armenian prisoner gurgling blood like a sacrificial lamb!..

Statuses giving news on the progress of the fighting. We will get news faster from soldiers under siege than from the commanders undertaking the siege. We will know within minutes how many soldiers have gone missing, how many soldiers have been captured, who has remained healthy, who has been wounded, and who has been killed.

A farewell letter written on the wall of a beloved woman from a soldier who knows that he won’t get out of a siege.

A message written by a commander preparing for tomorrow’s deadly fight after cleaning his gun and leaning against the damp wall of a trench after looking for the last time at a picture of his son. And looking up at the starry sky without uttering any words the revitalizing visions of his son. The commander will not be a part of those visions.

The messages of condolence being written on the wall of our Faebook friend who has been martyred in the war. A photograph of his cold body. The messages full of insults and curses written on the wall of a soldier who has deserted by his comrades and supported by those still behind the front lines.

It's possible to write predictions like this. Without going on much more let's finish on an optimistic note.

After the intense fighting pictures of liberated Ağdam and Boyəhmədli villages. The dexterity from the hand of a quick soldier. After the heavy fighting no matter how tired he is he will find a chance to share this joy.

Monday, January 30, 2012

This article appeared almost two weeks ago on the website of the opposition newspaper, Azadlıq. Taxi drivers are ubiquitous in Baku and the revenue that they generate supports many thousands of otherwise impoverished families in Baku. As is the case in many former Soviet countries, many taxi drivers that I met had advanced degrees in engineering and other technical fields but after the collapse of socialism their skills were devalued in favor of “modern” technocrats from Europe and the United States. With their jobs gone many men have turned to the only means of producing income at their disposal: their Soviet-era cars. The fact that so many drivers showed up to a demonstration signals to me that there are serious fractures in the social base that supports the Aliyev regime. It will be interesting to see how the government responds. I am uncertain about the portions highlighted in blue.

Hundreds of taxi drivers marched to the Transportation Ministry demanding the resignation of the minister

The ministry’s spokesperson deceived the drivers

“The law isn’t ours, it’s an order from above”

Drivers once again staged a massive action against raids begun by the Transportation Ministry and the Road Police against unlicensed taxis. Yesterday nearly 500 drivers gathering in front of the Transportation Ministry building demanded a repeal of the ordinance. Currently in order operate a legal taxi business permission is only given to cars made in 2007 or later.

Where are the television channels?

The action, which was set to begin at 3, began on time. As always, the police had come to the area before the drivers. Even though the Transportation Ministry is located in the Yasamal neighborhood police from Səbael had been called in. The police cut in front of the drivers who were gathering at one end of the road across from the ministry. Beforehand, they were not given the benefit of being told to disperse by the peace officers.

“We are fighting for bread, we want bread. In two days they go and bring a crappy taxi from China. They have put forward a 50 manat plan. Let’s say we agreed and gave them 50 manat, then what would we bring home? Should our children die of hunger?! Let them give us a chance and we would work. They’re not opening workplaces, they’re turning the people who earn 5 or 10 manat into paupers. However we pay taxes, let them define the license, if we pay we still have to take care of our families. Ziya Məmmədov must give his resignation. They are torturing the people. At this moment 60 per cent of the country drives taxis. If they destroy taxis, the entire nation will stand up. Everyone is taking care of at least 4 or 5 people in his family. When we gather in one place you’ll see how much of the population will stay hungry,” said the divers in their protest.

Where is the public’s public television (ITV)?

The drivers complained about television channels not shedding light on their problems: “Where is the honest, precise, and unbiased ANS, where is AzTV which talks day after day about Azerbaijan’s flourishing, where are the nearly one million jobs that have opened that ATV talks about? Where is the “public’s” public television? Why have they disappeared? Where are they? If they are in bed with the government then they are accomplices in the people’s sorrow.

Even though police came repeatedly to the ministry and declared that they supported clarifying the problem, the drivers answered that “Ziya Məmmədov himself should come and explain everything to us.” However, when they saw that something like this was not possible the taxi drivers began to shout the slogan “Resign”. After this the cooperative relationship between the demonstrators and the more than 100 police in the protest location intensified. The police clubs started trouble. Even though they wanted to move the drivers away from the area it was no use. Instead it created a traffic jam in the streets. The drivers began to shout the slogans “Freedom” and “Bear kebab eaters keep your hands off our money.” Even though the police wanted to drown out the chants of “Freedom” with loudspeakers this was also no use. Peace officers who were unable to control their tempers ultimately beat several people and when they wanted to put wounded and aggressive demonstrators in police cars by shoving them the drivers prevented it. After several attempts 3 people were arrested and were taken in an unknown direction. Seeing the infuriated condition of the crowd, the police requested that 10 people be chosen from the taxi drivers as representatives to meet with the leader of the ministry’s information service, Namiq Həsənov. Only three of them were allowed into the ministry. The protesters began to wait on the other part of the road for their comrades who were going to the meeting. The police stood against the protestors like a fence and stopped them from leaving to the road.

Namiq Həsənov’s twofaced game

Approximately half an hour later the drivers returned in good spirits: “We met with Namiq Həsənov. He says give him two days, let me talk with the minister and I will personally communicate with you on television. He says this law isn’t ours, it’s an order from above.” The drivers said that the message from the ministry is a lie. They decided to undertake another demonstration tomorrow.

However the drivers felt, they still did it. Namiq Həsənov announced the exact opposite of what he said to the drivers in his explanation to “Azadlıq” radio. Even if the drivers’ demonstrations are ongoing, he underlined the fact that the decision is not to going to change. He stated that the raids begun by the Transportation Ministry with the Road Police against unlicensed taxis will be continued: “Only after taxi drivers get a license will they be able to operate. Whoever goes and takes a car from ‘London taxis’ that is not up to standard or a white car note made less than 5 years ago can operate after getting a license. Everyone is equal before the law, if we gave permission to illegal activities it would mean that the Transportation Ministry itself is engaging in illegal matters.

Namiq Həsənov says that after this, individuals who want to offer taxi services must pay 150 manat for a 5-year license and nearly 30 manat per month for a distinct emblem and technical and physical examinations. Moreover, with their own money, drivers must install a navigation system and a meter.